Joanne Whittaker

Around 200 million years ago, the super continent 'Gondwana' broke apart. The tectonic plates that cover the Earth's surface shifted. Lava erupted between the plates from the Earth's deep interior forming new ocean basins. Today the continents are slowly moving towards each other to eventually rest together once more. The question is why? The answers lie in the deep.

"The earth's special because the outer-most crust is able to move, and that gives us mountain ranges and ocean basins that move and change dynamically through time and that enables life to exist on our planet"

Joanne Whittaker - September 2013

Plate tectonics:Piecing together a 200 million year old jigsaw puzzle

Marine Geophysicist, Dr Joanne Whittaker, is studying the fundamental processes that drive plate tectonics. She is interested in how the ocean basins form, how the continents move and how the Earth's surface motions react with the viscous interior.

'Essentially, I want to understand how the Earth works. But we are constrained by sparse and incomplete data,' she said.

'Plate tectonics has only been around as a theory since the 1950s. There is good surface data and old rock samples but relatively little data from the deep Earth ocean floor. We know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the deep ocean. Underwater exploration is remote and time-consuming
and it is expensive,' said Dr Whittaker.

Dr Whittaker is studying the past 200 million years, to try and understand where the plates were, why they shifted and what is happening now. The data is fed into modelling to map and reconstruct the movement of the plates.

'It is literally a giant jigsaw puzzle!' She said.

Dr Whittaker is well known for developing an understanding of the interaction between eruptions from the mantle, the earth's molten core, and the surface motions of the tectonic plates.

She studies satellite data of the ocean floor to look for interesting features that reveal information about ancient plate motions and their interaction with the hot, viscous mantle below.

'I love looking at unusual features under the water on satellite data. This is often what directs our research. We want to know what is that thing? How did it get there? Is it a seamount or could it be part of a continent?'

She led the team to explore two big underwater plateaus, together roughly half the size of Tasmania, off the coast of Western Australia, in 2011.

'We collected geological and geophysical data from the ocean floor, and what we found was that the plateaux are little pieces of India that were left behind when it broke off from Western Australia 100-104 million years ago,' she said.

Dr Whittaker is particularly interested in the movement of Australia away from Antarctica around 35 million years ago. She has been collaborating to look at how this separation influenced paleo ocean circulations. Taking core samples from sediments on the ocean floor, they are analysing fossilised
fish teeth to determine what the ocean currents and circulations were doing around 35-30 million years ago, and how this was influenced by the position of Australia and Antarctica.

'It provides us with another piece of the jigsaw puzzle. The teeth are like little tape recorders that can tell us a lot about the ocean currents at that time. The currents were effected by the separation of the continents, and the latitude that the continents were at,' said Dr Whittaker.

Understanding the evolution of continents over millions and billions of years can also identify the likely location of mineral, oil and gas deposits. The data collected and models produced by Dr Whittaker are used by industry to inform further exploration.

'If we had funding to not only collect, but process the data, with the increasing power of computer models and simulations, I believe in my lifetime we will become so much closer to understanding the Earth.'

Connect with Joanne Whittaker

Biography

Jo Whittaker joined
the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Science (IMAS) at the University of
Tasmania in January 2013. Her research interests are predominantly in plate
tectonics, marine geophysics and geodynamics. Jo completed a combine
science/commerce undergraduate degree with Honours in Geophysics from the University
of Sydney in 2003, followed by a Masters in Geophysics from Victoria
University, Wellington, New Zealand. She received her PhD, on the tectonic
consequences of mid-ocean ridge formation, evolution and subduction, from the
University of Sydney in 2008. Following graduation she worked both for industry
(GETECH in the UK) and academia (post-doc, University of Sydney).

Teaching

Teaching expertise

Jo has experience teaching across a range of geoscience subject areas in both classroom and field based settings in areas such as the fundamentals of plate tectonics, ocean basin formation and morphology, isostacy,mantle plumes, magnetics and marine sedimentation patterns. She also has experience teaching
intensive courses, e.g. the use of GMT (a specialised set of open source command line tools widely used in the geosciences), and Gplates (open source plate tectonic reconstruction software).

Connect with Joanne Whittaker

Expertise

Jo is an
academic in the field of marine geoscience. Her research focuses on
understanding fundamental Earth system processes and mechanisms, with a focus
on understanding the evolution of Australia, Antarctica, the Southern Ocean,
and the Eastern Indian Ocean.

Jo has
expertise in:

using geophysical and geological datasets to understand how surface plate
tectonics and convection patterns interact to shape the the seafloor, ocean
basins, continental margins

the interaction between plate tectonic motions and paleo-ocean
circulation patterns

Research Themes

Jo's research encompasses two of the University
of Tasmania's research themes, the Marine, Antarctic and Maritime theme,
aligning with IMAS and the ARC Antarctic Gateway Partnership Special Research
Initiative, and the Environment, Resources and Sustainability theme, aligning
with research strengths in the School of Physical Sciences and CODES. Her research interests are in the field of plate tectonics, geophysics
and geology specifically looking at the formation and evolution of continental
margins and oceanic crust. She uses marine geophysical and geological datasets
to understand how the interaction of upper mantle convection patterns and
surface plate tectonics shape the formation of the seafloor and ocean basins.
Studying plate tectonic process and surface and basin geology in concert allows
analysis of both horizontal plate tectonic driven vertical mantle driven
processes that together control the evolution of ocean basins over millions of
years.

Collaboration

Jo's research style is strongly collaborative, manifested by a wide range of
national and international co-authors. Nationally, she has robust and productive
collaborations, co-authorship, and co-led grants with the EarthByte Group led
by ARC Laureate Fellow Professor Dietmar Müller at the University of Sydney,
Professor Louis Moresi's group at the University of Melbourne, and Geoscience
Australia. She collaborates with leading geophysicists and geodynamicists
internationally, e.g. at the California Institute of Technology, University of
South Carolina, the University of Hawaii, and University of Oslo.

Awards

2013 L'Oreal
'For Women in Science' Award

2012 Edgeworth
David Medal, Royal Society of NSW

2010 NSW
Tall Poppy Award, Australian Institute of Policy & Science

2008 Awarded
'Best Oral Presentation' at the Third Eastern Australian Basins Symposium,
Sydney

Fields of Research

Research Objectives

Expanding Knowledge in the Earth Sciences (970104)

Copper Ore Exploration (840102)

Precious (Noble) Metal Ore Exploration (840105)

Publications

Jo regularly
publishes papers on topics such as plate tectonics, marine geophysics and
mantle-surface interaction in journals including Nature, Science,
Nature Geoscience, and Earth and Planetary Science Letters papers,
and a first-author manuscript is currently under review with Nature
Geoscience. In 2009, she was invited to write a News and Views piece for Nature
Geoscience. Jo regularly acts as a reviewer, for journals including Nature Geoscience, Geology, Geophysical
Research Letters, Gondwana Research, Geochemistry
Geophysics Geosystems, Geophysical
Journal International, and the Journal of Biogeography.

Grants & Funding

Jo has been
awarded significant funding and research support, including a 2015 ARC
Discovery Project and a 2014 ARC DECRA. Additionally, she has been highly
successful in obtaining shiptime on large national and international scientific
research vessels through competitive peer review processes.

2012-2014: Chief
investigator on three separate grants (from CSIRO and Schmidt Oceanographic
Institute) for a total of 16 weeks' ship time (worth almost $5.5 million)

2011: Lead
chief investigator on grant for three weeks' ship time (worth almost $1
million) on Australia's Marine National Facility research vessel Southern
Surveyor, funded by CSIRO and Statoil

Funding Summary

Number of grants

22

Total funding

$2,696,374

Projects

The Indian Ocean contains numerous enigmatic submarine ridges and plateaus. We will investigate how Williams Ridge, extending southeast of the Kerguelen Plateau, and the once-abutting Broken Ridge formed and developed over the past 100 million years. Acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of the new geophysical data and first-ever geological samples from Williams Ridge and the conjugate portion of Broken Ridge will reveal their crustal nature in the context of voluminous magmatism associated with mantle hotspot activity and changing tectonic plate configurations. This, in turn, will shed light on underlying geodynamic processes and will test and improve current plate kinematic models.

Hotspot dynamics in the Coral Sea: connections between the Australian plate and deep Earth (2019)$0

Description

In a handful of locations on Earth, hot material rises from deep within the Earth to create lines of volcanoes such as the Hawaiian-Emperor Seamount Chain. We aim to test if the Tasmantid and Lord Howe Seamount chains, hidden in the seas off eastern Australia, should be included in this rare group and if the Louisiade Plateau to the north could have formed from the massive flood of basaltic lava triggered when a rising plume reaches the surface.

The Australian Research Council funded Antarctic Gateway Partnership (AGP) is addressing strategic science questions about Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. The development and application of multi-million dollar, innovative Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) technology as part of the AGP will enable collection for the first time of data which is vital to understanding the physical, chemical and biological processes at work around and under Antarctic ice. This will lead, for example, to much better estimates of ice sheet contributions to sea level change. This project will enable the first deployment of a new Explorer AUV in Antarctic oceans. This deployment to Davis Station will facilitate the testing and trials of the vehicle in a series of stages; commencing in open water and culminating in under ice-shelf missions. Operational trials of the AUV platform in Antarctic environments is critical to the development of the Australian capability in polar science.

Tectonic Evolution and Sediment Provenance on the West Australian Margin: Bringing East Antarctica back into the Equation (2018 - 2019)$30,180

Description

This project is aligned with objective No 5 of expedition 369 (see scientific prospectus), which broadly set to investigate the tectonic and depositional history of the Mentelle Basin during the Mesozoic rifting and breakup of East Gondwana. The proposed post-cruise research aims to determine the provenance and the tectonic history of the sandstones recovered at site U1515 to redefine the early tectonic and paleogeographic evolution of the rifting East Gondwana margin. The following specific objectives will address this overall aim:1.Examine the provenance of sandstones from selected intervals from site U1515 to identify source terranes and establish sediment dispersal paths. We will test the hypothesis of an East Antarctic provenance of sediments in the eastern Mentelle Basin and investigate changes in paleo-drainage systems across southwestern Australia and East Antarctica.2.Acquire high-precision (U-Th)/He ages from pre-breakup sandstones in the eastern Mentelle and Perth Basins to investigate the vertical motion of the whole conjugate region at breakup and tectonic links with conjugate structures in Antarctica.

Funding

Australian and New Zealand Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Consortium ($30,180)

Characterization of sedimentary-tectonic evolution of Ridge A and its role in the late rifting/breakup process of the South China Sea (IODP Expedition 367/368 'South China Sea Rifted Margin') (2018)$13,299

Description

The project focuses on isotopic composition analyses of sediment samples recovered during IODP Expeditions 367/368 in the South China Sea, in order to understand the early stages of lithospheric thinning/breakup in the northern South China Sea. Oldest magnetic anomaly (basement ridge A) is drilled twice during the IODP expeditions, but different types of basement material is recovered (MORB-like basalt, sediment gravel) which are dated to the same age. We propose two possible scenarios of the sedimentary/tectonic evolution of this basement ridge, which canbe tested with isotopic composition analyses (Nd, Sr, Hf) on the sediment gravel unit. Sr isotopic record on the authigenic fractions will provide constraints for the depositional age. Nd isotopes will constrain changes of source provenances through time of the deposited material.

Funding

Australian and New Zealand Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Consortium ($13,299)

Scheme

Grant

Administered By

University of Tasmania

Research Team

Whittaker J

Year

2018

The Balleny mantle plume: key role in Tasmania-Antarctic breakup? (2018)$0

Description

This frontier work will address first-order geoscientific questions on the fundamental processes driving plate tectonic motions, particularly the separation between Australia and Antarctica. It will focus on the role of the Balleny plume, an upwelling of hot material through the Earths interior, that was responsible for the formation of many seamounts offshore Eastern Tasmania. It will also address the evolution of the Tasman Seaway, a critical component in the onset of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. This work will utilise marine geological data to resolve these outstanding tectonic and oceanographic questions.

Funding

CSIRO-Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation ($0)

Scheme

Grant-Marine National Facility

Administered By

University of Tasmania

Research Team

Whittaker J; Carey RJ; Williams Simon

Year

2018

IODP pre proposal writing workshop Completing the Australian-Antarctic transect: Ocean drilling to reveal the nature of Gondwana breakup and the development of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (2018)$3,500

Description

The aim of this workshop is to bring together experts to develop a mature version of an IODP pre-proposal to be submitted in April 2019, based on our presentation 4.8 Completing the Australian-Antarctic transect at the IODP Regional Planning Workshop in Sydney. The aim is to drill within the Australian-Antarctic Basin to target the objectives: 1) Development of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, 2) Lithospheric thinning processes during Australian-Antarctic Breakup, 3) Climatic evolution of Antarctic glaciation.

Funding

Australian and New Zealand Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Consortium ($3,500)

Scheme

Grant

Administered By

University of Tasmania

Research Team

Whittaker J; Bijl P

Year

2018

The Kerguelen Large Igneous Province: dynamics of a pulsating mantle plume (2017)$75,553

Description

Large igneous provinces (LIPs) are formed from massive outpourings of lava in geologically short periods of time (1 to 5 million years). As a result, they are at times associated with extinctions of life on Earth.The Kerguelen LIP, one of Earth's largest, formed over a much longer geological period than other LIPs,over at least 25 million years. During this time, the volume of magma erupted and intruded could coverAustralia in 250-metre-thick lava flows. Despite its enormous volume, the Kerguelen LIP did not result ina mass extinction. This project investigates how processes deep within Earth's interior interacted withsurface motions to form the Kerguelen LIP. The project combines geoscientific data with open-sourcesoftware to link the deep Earth with surface geological processes. The intended outcome is to provide aclearer understanding of how the internal workings of our planet drive and interact with the Earth's crust,and how these interactions have impacted life on Earth.

Funding

Department of Environment and Energy (Cwth) ($75,553)

Scheme

Grant-Australian Antarctic Science

Administered By

University of Tasmania

Research Team

Halpin JA; Coffin MF; Whittaker J; Jourdan F; Merle R; Olierook H

Year

2017

East Tasman Plateau - key to unravelling the onset of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (2017)$19,180

Description

The onset of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current was controlled by the Eocene rifting of Tasmania from Antarctica and evolution of the deep Tasman Gateway (e.g. Stickley et al. 2004; Scher et al. 2015). However, the exact mechanism enabling the onset of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current through the Tasman Gateway remains controversial, with rapid Eocene deepening (Stickley et al. 2004) and northward migration (Scher et al. 2015) both implicated. The source of controversy lies in alternative interpretations of the paleoenvironment and subsidence of the East Tasman Plateau, and the Cascade Seamount that sits upon it. Driven by interpretations of IODP drill site 1172 on the East Tasman Plateau, which was used as the type example for the region, the South Tasman Rise region (Fig. 1) is thought to have deepened rapidly in the late Eocene enabling formation of the deep oceanic gateway (Stickley et al. 2004; Hill and Exon, 2004). In this interpretation, the East Tasman Plateau was close to sea level during the Late Eocene and has subsided ~2 km since then to its present depth. However, the subsidence history inferred from dredge samples from the Cascade Seamount, a ~2000 m seamount sitting atop the East Tasman Plateau is significantly different (summarised in Figure 2). Here, dredged volcanic samples recovered opportunistically by fishing vessels also indicate near sea level conditions in the Late Eocene (Fig. 2; Quilty, 1997; 2001), but are located ~2 km shallower than the shallow marine Late Eocene sediments in IODP core 1172. Options to resolve this observed discrepancy include: 1) An alternative interpretation of the shallow marine siliciclastic sediments below 356 m in site 1172. Instead of being deposited in-situ as proposed by Stickley et al. (2004), these sediments may have been first deposited on the top/flank of the Cascade seamount and subsequently transported to site 1172 in sediment gravity flows (e.g. Hill and Exon, 2004; Scher et al. 2015). 2) Existing age and paleo-environment constraints for the Cascade Seamount rely heavily on rocks opportunistically provided by fishing vessels. As such, there is a possibility that these samples were not accurately located. 3) The glauconitic sand/silt unit in Site 1172 was formed in-situ, though at a greater depth than suggested by Hill and Exon (2004).

Funding

Australian and New Zealand Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Consortium ($19,180)

Scheme

Grant

Administered By

University of Tasmania

Research Team

Daczko N; Whittaker J; Carey RJ; Scher H; Halpin JA

Year

2017

Tectonics Erosion and Topography in East Antarctica (2017 - 2018)$52,900

Description

East Antarctica's subglacial topography is incredibly high and rugged for a stable continent. This frontier science proposal seeks to understand the drivers of this unusual topography, which are little studied and remain essentially unknown. We will study three fundamentally different areas of East Antarctica to determine how tectonics and erosion have influenced topography. Using recently collected datasets, we will map onshore geology and model onshore erosion since Gondwanan times. These new onshore observations will be linked with reinterpreted seismic data offshore to constrain the probable timings of events, and to understand where sediment moves to once it has been eroded. We anticipate that this research will develop new understandings of how the unique environment of East Antarctica has generated high, diverse and rugged topography within a "stable" craton. These results support broader initiatives to understand Gondwanan tectonics and Antarctica's cryospheric evolution

South-east Australia has a complex and fragmented geological history. Over the past 550 million years platetectonic processes have resulted in the formation of metal-rich mineral deposits. This project aims to develop andtest models for evaluating past tectonic processes and configurations, using both new and existing geological,geophysical and isotopic data. The information gained will be used to identify areas of high potential foreconomically valuable ore deposits, thereby enabling more efficient prioritisation of mineral exploration efforts.This will increase the probability of significant ore deposit discoveries leading to national economic benefit.

East Tasman Plateau - Key to unravelling the onset of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (2016)$0

Description

This frontier work will address first-order geoscientific questions on the evolution of the Tasman Seaway, a critical component in the onset of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Today, this current helps keep Antarctica cool, but its onset and role in stabilising icesheets on Antarctica remains controversial. This work will utilise marine geological data to resolve these outstanding tectonic and oceanographic questions around the evolution of key changes in past climatic and oceanographic conditions.

The scarcity of iron limits biological productivity and carbon uptake in the nutrient rich waters of the Southern Ocean. This project will explore for the first time the role of undersea "hotspot" volcanoes in supplying iron to surface waters, thus linking the solid earth and the biosphere. Existing data indicate that fields of submarine volcanoes extend for several hundred kilometres from Heard and McDonald islands, among the world's most active hotspot volcanoes. We will produce a three dimensional, high-resolution bathymetric and backscatter map of the seafloor surrounding the islands. We will map the water column for chemical signatures of hydrothermal activity. From this mapping we will identify and sample candidate active submarine volcanoes, a first for this region. We will measure iron abundance, and reactivity in buoyant plumes over and downstream of these volcanoes, and evaluate physical mixing processes that might deliver this iron to surface waters.

Reconstructing the submarine and subglacial East Gondwanan mountain chain (2015)$25,495

Description

This project will refine the plate model for the configuration, amalgamation and dispersal of East Gondwana, with implications not only for understanding the bedrock of Antarctica, but also the evolution of the Australian continent.

Funding

University of Tasmania ($25,495)

Scheme

Grant-Research Enhancement (REGS)

Administered By

University of Tasmania

Research Team

Halpin JA; Whittaker J

Year

2015

Reconstructing East Antarctica in Gondwana: ground-truthing a new tectonic model (2015)$35,624

The Perth Abyssal Plain is a poorly understood ocean basin located offshore of Perth, WA, thathosts a critical early record of the continental breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana at ~130 100 million years ago. This record elsewhere has been destroyed or overprinted. Our proposalinvestigates the affinity and origin of seafloor basalts and continental granites that have beendredged from the seafloor. We will apply state-of-the-art geochemical tools as part of anintegrated geological and geophysical study. We aim to produce a plate tectonic model for therifting of India-Australia-Antarctica and the birth of the Eastern Indian Ocean.

We will use a combination of 3D geodynamic modelling, plate kinematic reconstruction and geological and geophysical synthesis to determine how congested subduction zones influence plate kinematics, subduction dynamics, and tectonic evolution at orogen and global scales. We will deliver a transformation change in understanding the links between congested subduction, mantle flow, trench migration, crustal growth, transitions between stable convergent margin configurations, and deformation in the overriding plates of subduction zones. Determining these relationships is significant because it will provide dynamic context to interpret the geological record of ancient convergent margins, which host a large percentage of Earth's metal resources.

Using the Schmidt Ocean Institutes research vessel (RV) Falkor, this project will investigate three prominent, yet unmapped and poorly known features on the Ontong Java Plateau (OJP) in the western equatorial Pacific Ocean: Ontong Java Atoll, Nukumanu Atoll, and Kroenke Canyon and Fan. The primary aims of the project are: to test potential genetic relationships between a) the atolls and the OJP, and b) the atolls and Kroenke Canyon; to understand and model how atolls and canyons form and evolve on oceanic plateaus, isolated from terrestrial influences and subject to sea level fluctuations; and to contribute to understanding tsunami risk on low-lying atolls. During the 30--day RV Falkor research expedition, research will acquire multibeam bathymetric and sub--bottom profiling data for the first time from Ontong Java Atoll, Nukumanu Atoll, and Kroenke Canyon and Fan. Multibeam bathymetric data will elucidate the morphology of the seafloor around the atolls, including their volcanic foundations, and along the Kroenke Canyon and Fan system. Sub--bottom profiling data will reveal the nature of the seafloor (sediment vs igneous rock) and its shallow stratigraphy. Together, the multibeam bathymetry and sub--bottom profiles will enable identification of promising sampling (dredging, coring, drilling, ROV) locations for future research expeditions.

Plumes of molten rock rise from deep within the Earth resulting in massive surface eruptions that can lead to global mass extinction events. Despite their size, the role plumes play in driving movements of the continents is poorly understood. This project combines independent global and Australian geological and geophysical data with open software systems to link deep Earth and surface geological processes. This approach will result in a clearer understanding of how the internal workings of our planet drive and interact with surface geological processes, and how these interactions shape the environmentally important, and resources rich, continental margins and ocean basins.

This project will characterise the poorly known Perth Abyssal Plain passive margin by collecting new magnetic anomaly tracks from the oceanic crust and directly sampling rifted continental fragments such as the Dirck Hartog Ridge, Batavia Knoll and Gulden Draak Ridge. The new magnetic anomaly data will enable resolution of the controversial seafloor spreading history of the Perth Abyssal Plain, where currently there are two competing interpretations. This revised reconstruction will enable the development of regionally consistent plate reconstructions resolving the current poor fit between India, Australia and Antarctica. Geochronology and geochemistry on dredged samples will determine the affinity of these rocks for the first time, characterising the key tectonic features offshore southwest Australia.

Funding

CSIRO-Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation ($0)

Scheme

Grant-Marine National Facility

Administered By

University of Sydney

Research Team

Whittaker J; Halpin JA; Muller D; Daczko N; Williams Simon

Year

2011

Research Supervision

Jo has a history of successfully supervising research thesis students in a range
of plate tectonic and marine geophysical topics. She is always keen on hearing
from students interested in global and regional marine geophysics, plate
tectonics, and the interaction between the deep Earth and the surface, for
example around topics such as Large Igneous Province formation, micro-continent
continental margin evolution. There are regularly opportunities to participate
in research voyages.

Current

6

Current

Degree

Title

Commenced

PhD

Bathymetric and Tectonic Consequences of Plume Interaction with the Ocean Floor

2014

PhD

The Evolving Paleo-Bathymetry of the Southern Ocean

2016

PhD

Seismic and Geological Constraints on the Lithospheric Structure of Antarctica

2016

PhD

Antarctic Heatflux from Regional and Global Geophysical Constraints in a Plate Reconstruction Framework?

2016

PhD

High Resolution Acoustic Mapping in Extreme Marine Environments

2016

PhD

Plate Tectonic Modelling of the Early Palaeozoic Evolution of South Eastern Australia